As soon as he saw this,
he caught up the piece of linen in haste and hid it under his
thigh; and indeed he seemed as though he had lost his reason, and
he repeated the following verses:
When shall my sad tormented heart be healed, alas, of thee? The
Pleiades were nearer far than is thy grace to me.
Distance estrangement, longing pain and fire of love laid waste,
Procrastination and delay, in these my life doth flee.
For no attainment bids me live nor exile slays me quite, Travel
no nigher doth me bring, nor wilt thou nearer be.
There is no justice to be had of thee nor any ruth In thee; no
winning to thy grace and yet no breaking free.
Alack, for love of thee, the ways are straitened all on me; So
that I know not where I go nor any issue see!
The prince wondered greatly at his behaviour, and said to him,
'What is that piece of linen?' 'O my lord,' replied the merchant,
'thou hast no concern with it.' 'Show it me,' said the prince;
and the merchant answered, 'O my lord, it was on account of this
piece of linen that I refused to show thee my goods; for I cannot
let thee look on it.' But Taj el Mulouk rejoined, 'I must and
will see it;' and insisted and became angry. So he drew it out
from under his thigh, weeping and lamenting and redoubling his
sighs and groans, and repeated the following verses:
Blame ye the lover not, for blame but irketh him to hear; Indeed,
I spoke him truth, but he to me would lend no ear.
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